As the results were announced Berry said she was “excited” to take on the leadership “at this crucial time for our country and party”.

“With Brexit on the horizon and our planet burning, the last thing people need is the stale centrism of the past, which brought us austerity and privatisation – and totally failed to tackle climate breakdown or give people real security and quality of life,” she said.

Sian Berry

“The Green Party is the opposite of vapid, old school centrist politics, and we are ready to shout louder than ever before about the bright Green ideas needed to face the huge challenges in the world today.

“We will be championing a People’s Vote on Brexit, tackling climate breakdown, ensuring everyone has the right to a safe warm home, and fulfilling work that translates to more time off with our families, not more unemployment as automation grows.

“We are the only party who can be trusted to stand up for citizens in our nations of England and Wales, instead of the interests of big business or millionaires.”

Berry became a member of the Green Party when she was 27

The politician began her life in Cheltenham in Gloucestershire. Berry, the daughter of two teachers, attended a state grammar school in before going to Trinity College at the University of Oxford, where she studied metallurgy and materials science.

Transport campaigner

After moving to London in 1997 Berry, a new graduate, worked as a medical copywriter for pharmaceuticals companies. She decided to move to more “ethical” work and held several positions including PA at a charity, temp worker and a project manager.

She joined the Green Party aged 27 and quickly became an active campaigner for green policies and transport issues – rising through the party’s ranks to be known as one of its priciple voices.

Berry at a 4x4s protest in 2008(Photo by Jeremy O’Donnell/Getty Images)

Berry headed up Alliance against Urban 4×4s campaign in Camden in 2003 which called for measures against 4×4 vehicles in cities. The group became known for its methods of protest which included slapping mock parking tickets on the cars in the area.

As she became more prominent in the party Berry took on the role of campaigns co-ordinator. In the job, Berry led calls for low carbon, non-nuclear energy and campaigned against the renewal of Britain’s nuclear weapon Trident.

She became known for her campaign stunts which caught people’s attention and, as a regular blogger and YouTuber, developed her own strong following of voters and supporters.

Berry at a rally against a third runway at Heathrow airport in 2015 (Photo by Chris Ratcliffe/Getty Images)

Berry said that throughout her political career she has “always combined electoral politics with campaigning on issues within the community”.

Mayoral candidate

After failing to win several local council and constituency elections in north London, Berry was elected as the Green Party’s female Principal Speaker in 2006.

Aged just 33 she was named as the party’s nomination for the London Mayoral race in 2008 and she quit her job heading up the Imperial College website to focus on her campaign.

Berry was endorsed by The Independent and The Observer newspapers, with Labour’s Ken Livingstone as second preference, and came fourth in the race. She won 3.15 per cent of first preference votes and 13.50 per cent of second preferences.

In 2014 she was elected to Highgate council and was again announced as the Green’s mayoral candidate for the 2016 London election, as well as a candidate for the London Assembly.

As a renter herself, Berry put renters’ rights at the centre of her campaign as well as policies around reducing traffic, supporting small businesses and extending neighbourhood policing groups.

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